Here's Why China And India Are Trying To End A Long-Held Dispute Over A Barren Strip Of Land

Mamta Badkar

Tuesday

Oct 29, 2013 at 3:30 PM

Last week, China and India signed a border pact to ease tensions along the disputed border dubbed the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

The pact is largely intended to prevent a military conflict, improve communication between the two sides, encourage cooperation on border-related activities such as combating the smuggling of contraband goods, and promote better relations between troops, like joined celebrations of major holidays, reports the Indian Express.

Experts aren't too enthused about the pact, viewing it as a temporary fix. "So many of the current problems arise from the line of actual control and both sides have a different understanding which means even after the new agreement is implemented there will still be conflicts and contradictions," Huang Yinghong, assistant professor of Asian and Pacific studies at Sun Yat-sen University, told the Financial Times.

China and India went to war in 1962 over disputed territory of Aksai Chin. India claimed this was a part of Kashmir, while China claimed it was a part of Xinjiang.

To the east, China and India also fought over the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. China calls the territory South Tibet.

It is widely believed that India's decision to grant the Dalai Lama asylum during the Tibetan uprising against Chinese rule also played a part in the war.

After the loss of Aksai Chin, Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru said "not a single blade of grass grows there."

But the disputes also extend to other parts.

"Currently, India and China dispute over a land area of about 125,000 km2 which can be divided into the eastern, middle and western sectors," write Hongzhou Zhang and Mingjiang Li of International Society for Performance Improvement (ISPI).

We've already looked at the eastern sector (Arunachal Pradesh) and the western sector (Aksai Chin). There's also the middle sector:

"The middle sector starts from the tri-junction between the Southwestern of Ngari Prefecture, Tibet, La dwags and Punjab to the tri-junction between China, India and Nepal. Its border is about 450 km long, with about 2,000 km2 of land under dispute. The disputed area in the middle sector on the other hand is much smaller, involving only several pockets."

The death toll of the Sino-Indian war climbed to the thousands for India, and the hundreds for China. Thousands were wounded on both sides, and thousands of Indian soldiers disappeared. Many soldiers on both sides were believed to have died from the extremely harsh weather conditions.

China won that war. But Sino-Indian territorial disputes have continued since. Part of the problem is that a clear border has never been identified.

But India And China Have Good Reason To Cooperate

India is China's second-largest neighbor and the two are emerging market power houses. Yet, the EU, U.S., Hong Kong, Japan, and South Korea are bigger trading partners to China, than India, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. Both India and China have pledged to boost two-way trade to $100 billion by 2015.

At a time when economic growth in both countries is beginning to slow, improving relations could help support both economies. In a speech delivered at the Central Party School, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh pointed to "eight specific areas" where he sees opportunities for China and India to cooperate more. Here are the key talking points from his speech via The Hindu:

India needs to modernize its infrastructure and welcome Chinese investment there.
Efficiently managing the "process of mass urbanization" along with improved waste management. "China has significant experience of urbanization and our national planners, city administrators and entrepreneurs should share experiences and seek solutions in dealing with the physical, social, environmental and human challenges of mobility and urbanization."
India can learn from the strength of China's manufacturing sector, while China can learn from India's strength in services.
"Intensify cooperation on the shared challenges of energy security, including joint development of renewable energy resources."
Work together on food security.
Collaborate to make " the international economic environment more conducive to our development efforts."
Focus more attention on sustainable growth and cooperate to ensure that "the international response to climate change does not constrain our growth and that it continues to be based on the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities."
Work together to ensure security in the region.

Tied closely to Singh's final point, better ties between the two Asian giants "opens up the possibility that Beijing might use its leverage with Islamabad to shape Pakistan’s behavior in a way that might benefit India," writes Tanvi Madan of Brookings Institute.

"For Beijing, there’s desire to limit India’s burgeoning relationships with the United States and Japan, as well as with other countries in what Beijing considers its backyard."

While the latest Sino-Indian border pact is not likely to yield an outright political alliance, better political and cultural ties can only help bolster both economies.

See Also:

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